Back to New Zealand Nature..

(not really indispensible in the wild, but funny nonetheless..found in K-Mart in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Can you think of a better way to be prepared for Mother Nature?)

SINGAPORE VS. NEW ZEALAND - PART 2

Not really part two, but a continuation. I have been to beautiful Wellington for a couple of days in the meantime and just got back to Palmerston North, to continue my stay with Amelie and Sascha for one last day before I take the overlander train back to Auckland tomorrow. Thanks a lot for all the hospitality, also to you Matt and your flatmates! I will try to make this visit to New Zealand a regular thing. Asia is not too far away, and that is where I am currently drawn to..

5) Supermarket: Surprisingly, New Zealand is more digitised here than Singapore. Price tags in many supermarkets are LEDs and customers can use a self-checkout by scanning the products in the trolley with a small battery-powered reader. How convenient for the store to outsource all the more parts of this value adding chain to the customers. Not suprisingly, New Zealand and Singapore seem to compete in the insanity of using as many plastic bags as possible to pack up the goods. At least in both countries the people have not forgotten how to be served, so there are always people who pack your purchase into dozens and dozens of bags. By the way, wine is a LOT cheaper here..

(New Zealand countryside; have a closer look at the picture...what can be perceived as little, bright maggots are acutally grazing, strolling sheep...this kind of mammal is one of its most important commodities)

6) Money: In the last couple of years, New Zealand seems to have turned into a cashless society. Fascinating. Everything, from the smallest breakfast roll is being paid via EFTPOS (like EC/Maestro). People with big piles of 'real' money are therefore sure to be mostly tourists. I also heard that the 5 Cent coin is supposed to be abolished soon, mainly to make payment even easier. Singapore is not chashless yet, but since the difference between rich and poor in Singapore is way more distinct, many people do not even have a bank account. Cash is more important here and a visible sign of wealth.

(The last weekend, Matt, Rob and me continued tradition by going for an overnight tramping trip in the Ruahines..a mountain range close to Palmerston North. Finally there was a reason to drag around my MUAC [Massey University Alpine Club] polypro-shirt in Singapore during the last 8 months. The rather short trip lead us along the riverbed of a small river, which we had to cross every couple of meters. It was fun and in the end not too cold to walk in completely soaked and dripping hiking boots. The best moment is the one when you have to get in your still wet boots the next freezing morning with hardly dried socks..yummy)

7) Sports: New Zealand is the only country I know where Skateboarding is still widely accepted as being a cool thing. The capital Wellington for example has many young teens and twens who use them as a means of transportation or simply to show off. This feels like a jump into the early 90s in Europe. Besides, Kiwis are naturally crazy for Rugby. No new information here. The belief in the performance of the allmighty ALL-BLACKS (the national team) has more or less a religious character. Singapore? When I think back now..I cannot really remember ANY specific sport that was present in the public and had wide support. I have to check on that again..there must be something..

(a real Kiwi meal: A Burger with Salami, Cheese and Potato Chips [makes it more crunchy]. This tasty appetiser was followed by genuine New Zealand sausages [no comment here...I have to say that these really belong to another world, in a negative sense] and Spaghetti Carbonara. All this with lots of chocolate and a crackling fire in the background turned it into a quiet cosy evening)

8) FOOD: Singapore has all sorts of funny dried fish (sweeted and salted), as well as dried seaweed that can be eaten like potato chips while watching a movie. Disgusting. Sorry. But true. Anyway, I think I do not need to mention that food is one of the many aces Singapore can draw. Its street hawkers alone provide a fantastic blend of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Western food. New Zealand on the other hand can score with fantastic dishes like Mince Pies (not Mint Pies..I had that mixed up in the beginning and therefore got something I did not quite expect) and Marmite (a yeast extract that they put on bread like Nutella...disgusting. Sorry. But true. Zero tolerance here from my side. You have to grow up with this to like it.)

(well..I'm not the big beer drinker. But, 'In Rome do like the Romans do', so there was no way of getting around the Kiwi's irrevocable duty of carrying beer and wine up to the hut and playing cards)

9) Clothing: What do they have in common? Singaporeans and Kiwis love to run around with shorts, flipflops and t-shirts. And, they both don't care about the weather. The difference? Singaporeans do not have to care about the weather, since it's always the same at this location only a few inches away from the equator. New Zealanders do have to face seasons, but they kindly ignore that fact. It is a quite common picture on the street to see a stocky Kiwi with only shorts and t-shirt, walking barefoot on his way to do some groceries, while the woman next to him looks like she's on to a trip to an Antartic glacier.

(Picture of me getting some new wood. It was indeed quite freezing outside..winter is looming around this time of the year. By the way, we were the only ones on the hut that night, but we had to share it with some mice...according to the familiar sound :-))

This was only a very short exploration of Kiwi lifestyle...a glimpse...the tip of the iceberg...an appetizer to make anyone hungry for both places. Get your bite!

Time for bed now...the next post will probably reach you from Germany then...

Good night!

Maik